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FOOT GUARD FOR RAILWAY OROSSINGS AND SIMILAR PLAGESL No. 371,011.Patented Oct. 4,,1887.

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UNITED STATES PATE T OFFICE.

CHARLES H. WATSON, OF OMAHA, NEBRASKA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO JOHN L.MOCAGUE, OF SAME PLACE.

FOOT-GUARD FOR RAILWAY-CROSSINGS AN D SIMILAR PLACES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 371,011, dated October4, 1887.

Application filed June 21, 188i. Serial No. 242,017. (No model.)

switches, &c., for the purpose of preventing the feet of operatives andothers from being caught at the angles of the rails.

The object of the invention is to provide a yielding guard-plate-that isto say, one which will yield to thewheels of the cars when passing, butwill retain its normal position when subjected to ordinary weights, suchas that of the human body and the like; and it consists in combiningwith a metallic plate springs of a novel and peculiar character, bywhich the plate is held with a force more uniform from end to end thanare the corresponding parts of such devices held as heretofore made.

Figure 1 is a top plan view of parts of two railway-tracks at the pointswhere they cross. Fig. 2 is a cross-section on the line A A, Fig. 1.Fig. 3 shows a section of the guard device detached and on an enlargedscale.

In the drawings, 0 0 represent the guardplates proper, they being formedof sheet or plate metal of sufficient thickness and of such shapes as toconform to the parts to which they are to be applied. That at O isrepresented as being applied to two parallel rails, while those at C aremore nearly triangular in form, and are inserted in the angles betweenconverging rails.

The guard-plate, whether of the shape shown at C or that at C issupported upon springs. These are represented generally by B B, eachspring being more or less nearly U-shaped in conformation-that is tosay, formed with legs I) and a central connecting part, b, the legs b bdiverging somewhat upwardly from the part b, and at their upper endsbeing curved or rounded outwardly,as shown at b. The springs are boltedto a bottom plate, C, which can be either fastened securely to the lowerparts of the rails or to the ties or sleepers of the track. I prefer,however, to have them detached to rest loosely upon the part below,which supports them, the springs being of such characacter as toautomatically hold both the baseplates C and the guard-plates C inproper position without requiring supplemental fastening devices. Theplate which fastens the spring to the base-plate is represented by D.The guard-plate C is shaped so as to fit against the under side of thetread of the rails. \Vhen the wheels of the cars strike the guard-plate,it yields downwardly, the springs permitting the downward movement andimmediately forcing the plate back into position after the wheels havepassed.

Springs of the character herein sh0wn-that is to say, U shaped orbifurcated springs, having one part bearing under one side of theguard-plate and another part bearing against the opposite side of theplate, the several springs being arranged in series from end to end ofthe plateare much superior to the flat plate-springs or band-springs andto the coiled springs which have been used. By means of devices such asshown the guard-plate can be held with a uniform resistance from end toend, so that under all of the ordinary weights short of that of a car itwill be practically rigid in position, without any tendency to vibrateor oscillate either laterally or longitudinally, and in this way Iovercome serious objections incident to the devices heretofore employed.

It will be readily seen that a guard of the character herein shown anddescribed can be cheaply manufactured, and that the device as a whole issimple in construction and in the arrangement of its parts, so thatthere is no material liability to have said parts disarranged, and thatit can be put into place or removed without trouble.

What I claim isl. In afoot-guard for railway-crossings and other places,the combination, with the rails, of the yielding guard-plate,andthespringshaving their lower ends fastened and having their upper endsarranged to bear upwardly beneath the side edges of the guard-plate andto yield laterally relative to said plate, substantially as set forth.

2. In a foot-guard for railway-crossings and.

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other places, the combination, with the rails, of the yieldingguard-plate, the U-shaped or bifurcated springs each having oppositelegs, I) 6, bearing upwardly and laterally, and the loose base-plate G,to which each of said springs is secured at the bottom, substantially asset forth. a

3. In a foot-guard for railway-crossings and other places, thecombination of the yielding guard-plate and a series of separate springshaving arms fastened at the bottom and bearing upwardly and laterallyagainst the said guard-plate along both of its side edges, substantiallyas set forth.

4. In a foot-guard for railway-crossings and CHARLES H. WATSON.

Witnesses:

ISAAC W. IIALL, 'IHos. H. SMITH.

